Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Welcome to the latest, greatest edition of the Addiction/Recovery e Bulletin - the fascinating weekly publication that makes it easy to forget that 95% of heavy drug users will never be drug addicts.Anyone can have problems with drugs or alcohol, and there is no reason to delay recovery simply because you don't want to call yourself a drug addict. In this issue, we get the big thrill of seeing celebrities prove that they are just as screwed up as we are, that medicine has made more breakthroughs in understanding addiction, that politicians are still living in the past when even Jethro Tull could tell them that they are thick as a brick when it comes to the absurd "War on Drugs" -- the war on youth, minorities, and the medically ill.Gambling addiction is a sure bet for coverage in this issue, along with highlights of the REEL RECOVERY FILM FESTIVAL, and the thrilling announcement that Writers in Treatment is offering five scholarships to the West Coast Symposium on Addictive Disorders. Meanwhile, in Nevada, gambling headquarters for the West Coast, marijuana may be the new cash crop!Sober moms offer good advice, rehabs beckon those who want recovery now, and 44% of college kids prefer driving stoned on pot. That may or not be a good idea, depending on whom you consult. A study in Washington State in the 1960's -- not widely promulgated - showed driving concentration improved when the driver was on pot, rather than being impaired. It was probably not the pot, but the paranoia. So, get ready for news you can use and opinions that won't drive you to drink...courtesy of Writers in Treatment...I'm Burl Barer, member of the Writers in Treatment Advisory Board, and I take personal responsibility for anything I said that you don't like. Hey, it's only life, and you can handle it.

Channing is a new dad, but has already set down a few ground rules for how he'll raise his daughter, Everly (with wife Jenna Dewan Tatum). Channing has dyslexia and ADHD (attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder) and took prescription drugs as a child to cope with his learning disabilities. He says he'll never put his daughter on drugs if she winds up with the same disorders.

Ozzy Osbourne was "terrified" of prison, which is why he changed his life after being locked up.
Ozzy Osbourne says prison and rehab have a "similar vibe". Ozzy hid last year's relapse from his family and his wife Sharon has admitted feeling devastated when she found out. She came close to divorcing the star, who she's been married to for 31 years, but after couples counselling they worked things out. Ozzy is in no doubt he couldn't cope without his flame-haired spouse.

Trent Reznor On How Sobriety, Discomfort, and Experimentation Fuel His Creative Pursuits

The Gift of Sobriety-Giving up drugs and alcohol has had a huge impact. "Right now I'm feeling inspired. An unexpected side effect of getting sober 12 years ago was I'm motivated: I feel like I've lost some time and I want to make up for that. I really appreciate having the opportunity to do several things I love doing.

Male college students are much more likely to drive after smoking marijuana than to drive after drinking, a new study finds. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, found 44 percent of college men said they drove after smoking marijuana in the previous month, compared with 12 percent who said they drove after drinking.

Alcoholism is a serious problem for many Americans today, and even celebrities are not exempt from such addictions. In fact, as we well know, some celebrities are more prone than average to alcohol addiction and drug abuse, because they can well afford to feed their addictions. Here are twelve celebrities you may not have known were alcohol addicts.

A group of retired American football players have sued the National Football League, claiming it illegally gave them painkillers to keep them playing. The players in the suit say they were given narcotics and other drugs without a prescription, and had health issues and addictions as a result.

Having support that comes from someone other than a clinician is important to recovery, according to addiction specialists. Oftentimes, people find that support in Alcoholics Anonymous and its off-shoot, Narcotics Anonymous. "In my experience, there are many, many people in recovery today who would have never gotten there without the support and assistance of AA," said Frank Jans, director of psychiatry for West Penn Allegheny Health Network.

Spoken Word Poem Expresses The Pain of Growing Up Around Addiction VIDEO

Get ready to experience a roller coaster ride of emotions when you hear Princeton University student Patrick Roche recite his powerful and affecting spoken word poem "21" at the 2014 College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational in Boulder, Colo. The video, posted by Button Poetry, covers a spectrum of intense topics, including addiction, abuse, sexuality and growing up in a home with an alcoholic father.

This summer, the Lane County Adult Drug Court will become the first drug court in Oregon to provide Vivitrol - a drug injected just once a month that can help opiate addicts overcome drug dependence. The drug helps to reduce the craving for opiates, such as heroin, and can prevent individuals who do use opiates from feeling their euphoric effects.

Next month, I'll have a year of sobriety under my belt. I've been pretty open about mystruggles with alcoholism, but it's never exactly the easiestsubject to talk about. Particularly when I can tell that being a non-drinker makes someone else feel super awkward.

San Francisco 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith pleaded no contest Wednesday to three felony weapons charges and two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence. The 24-year-old Smith entered his pleas in a Santa Clara County Superior Courtroom in San Jose. He faces a sentence ranging from spending no time in custody to a maximum of four years and four months behind bars at a judge's discretion, prosecutors said.

A new study used a rat model of alcohol dependence to directly investigate the KOR system following chronic alcohol exposure and withdrawal. They found that the KOR system is dysregulated in the amygdala of alcohol-dependent rats, a vital brain region with many functions, including regulation of emotional behavior and decision-making.

Are drugmakers responsible for an epidemic of prescription painkiller abuse? A new lawsuit alleges that 20 years ago, pharmaceutical companies set out to turn drugs that were narrowly prescribed for short-term acute pain into commonplace remedies for such conditions as arthritis and back pain, downplaying the risk of addiction. Deaths involving prescription painkillers more than tripled in the first decade of the 21st century, according to data recently published by the Centers for Disease Control.

The Power of Addiction and The Addiction of Power: Gabor Maté at TEDxRio+20

Dr. Maté is a renowned author of books and columnist known for his knowledge about attention deficit disorder, stress, chronic illness and parental relations. His theme at TEDxRio+20 was addiction - from drugs to power. From the lack of love to the desire to escape oneself, from susceptibility of the being to interior power - nothing escapes. He risks a generic and generous prescription: "Find your nature and be nice to yourself."

U.S. Sen Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced Monday that he is asking for $100 million in funding for to curb the scourge of heroin in New York and across the country."Every time I walk into a funeral or a shiva call for a young person - which I've done a lot so far this year - I see the end result of unfettered drug access."

I felt this my whole life, but especially when she flew from Texas to where I live in New York City to rescue me, her then 38-year-old, redheaded baby son. I was suffering from alcoholism, the disease that Betty Ford pulled out of the gutter when she became the face of it.

Ms. de Blasio, who last year revealed that she had sought treatment for alcohol and drug abuse, was recognized by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for serving as an example of hope for other young adults, at a ceremony in Prince George's County on children's mental health.

In a post on his personal website, the Sum 41frontman revealed that he had been struggling with alcoholism, culminating in a sudden hospitalization for liver and kidney failure from too much drinking over the years. Whibley was hospitalized for a month, doctors informing him that if he had another alcoholic drink, he would likely die. The incident scared him straight.

Rob Ford's rehab came out Friday appealing for privacy as eTalk published the first photo of him inside the facility and the mayor popped up posing for photos with people. The photo comes around three weeks into the mayor's rehab stint.

The product has the potential to be the first of its kind to treat overdose from opioid prescription painkillers and heroin - a growing epidemic in the U.S. Currently, the standard medical protocol for treating opioid overdose is to administer an injectable form of naloxone. It must be administered intravenously or as a shot into muscle or under the skin.

Marijuana is considered a drought-tolerant plant and doesn't require a significant amount of water to grow, said Derek Peterson, president of Terra Tech, an agricultural company that's applied for a marijuana cultivation license in Clark County. Terra Tech wants to open a 50,000-square-foot cultivation warehouse under a Las Vegas-based subsidiary called MediFarm LLC.